Improved car-coupling



` B'ARTHELMESS -KLMILLAR.

` `Cr Coupling.'

Patented iNo`v. 3, 1868.

ROBERT M., BARTHELMESS AND CHARLES NAH, GEORGIA.

O. MILLAR, OF SAVAN- Letters Patent No. -83,591, dated November 3, 1868'IMPROVED CAR-COUPLING.

The Schedulexeferred to in these Letters I-iatent and making part of thesame.

To all 'whom it lmay concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT' M. BAnTnELMEss and CHARLES O. MILLAR, ofSavannah, inthe county of Chatham, and VState ofGeorgia, have invented anew and improved Gar-Coupling; and we do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing vhad to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in whichi Figure 1 is a iront view of the bulfer-head,latch, and coupling-link.

Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 are longitudinal sectional latchin differentpositions.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severaligures.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement on that class ofcar-couplings wherein a link and latch are employed for connecting theseveral cars or coaches of a train together, said latch being soarranged and pivoted as to act as a self-coupling.

The invention relates particularly to the self-coupling slotted latch,which plays th'rough'a vertical slot, made longitudinally through theupper part of the hufferdlead, and which is so hruig as to have avertical bodily movement,and also a longitudinal vibrating movement, sothat while it operates as a self-coupler, itcan also be readily raisedand depressed by hand, like the ordinary coupling-pin.

The nature of our invention consists in a slotted segmental coupling-pinor latch, applied permanently to a buffer-head, by means of a transversepivot-pin or rivet, so as to have a free vertical bodily movement, andalso a vibrating movement, in combination with a concave forwardabutment, which is concentric to the axis of motion of the latch, and soarranged that the latter cannot get in such a position that it willbind, or fail to drop, by its own' weight, into its proper place whenraised, a s will be hereinafterdescribed.

lo enable others skilled in the art to understand our invention, we willdescribe its construction and'operation.'

The buffer-head is made with a flaring bell-mouth, extending back into achannel having rectangular sides,

views of the coupling and link, showing the link and and terminating ina receptacle, a, for receiving the end ofthe` coupling-link A, andkeeping this link in a horizontal position, as lshown in iig. 3.

This buiier-head B has a slot, l), madevertically and longitudinallythrough it, above the hell-mouth chamber C, which slot is of such lengthas will allow the latch D t0 vibrate freely backward of the position inwhich it is represented in figs. 2 and 5.-

Beneath this slot l), and in the same vertical plane,V is a depression,c, made in the lower part of the buffer.- head, for receiving the lowerend of the latch D, and affording a forward abutment therefor, when thelatch is in the position shown in iigs.l 2 and 5.

The latch D of the form of a segment, with an eye, d, through its upperend, to which `is applied ring, e, for raising the latch to uncouple.

This latch D has a slot, f, through it, through which passes a pin orrivet, y, that extends transversely 'through ears formed on top vof thebufferhead.

'lhe ends ofthe pin g are riveted, so that said latch will bepermanently attached tothe buffer-head.

The oblong slot, j', through the latch D, is of such /f length as willallow ,the latch .to be raised suiiiciently high to detach the`coupling-link A from it, and this slot has the same curve as the frontedge of the latch.

The front curved edge of the latch D is fitted snugly but not tightlyagainst an abutment, h, which latter serves, in conjunction with anabutment at fi, to support the latch at two points, and on both sidesofthe cou liri -link A as shown in iig. 5.

The curved abutment, h, pitches the upper end of `the latch forward, andcauses it to rise and fall bodily inthe arc of a circle, so that thislatch cannot, under any circumstances, bind, or assume such a positionthat it will fail to fall properly in position when released, afterbeing raised to allow of the withrh'awal of the link.

NVhile this forward abutment, h, will prevent the latch D from vibratingwhenraised, it will not prevent 'it' from vibrating back of the positionshown in fig. 2

when depressed.

The abutment at t', and the eye-piece al, on the latch D, Will preventthe lower end of the latter from being 'thrown up too high in making acoupling of two cars.

a train is in motion, going forward, in 'which position of the link thelatch will receive veryA little strain.

We do not claim the construction of slotted latch for links of cars,shown in the patent of J. M. Gow,

granted February 9, 1864, as such construction would not accomplish theresultssecured by our combined segmental abutment h h and segmentallatch D but having described .our invention,

What we claim as'new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is`

The application, within a longitudinal slot, b, through a buffer-head,B, of a slotted segmental latch, D,jof described construction', guided'and kept in place by means o f a`pin, g, and curved abutment yh,substantially as described, and for the'pru'poses set forth.

- R., M. BARTHELMESS Witnesses: OHARLES'C. MILLAR.

JOHN B. BARTHELMEss, WM. B. Hemus.

